8.2 What Is Stratification?
Social stratification impacts most of our experiences within our society (figure 8.2). Recent accounts point to increasing disparities between the wealthy and everybody else in the United States (Pinketty 2017). Even as the wealthy have accumulated more and more resources, other forms of inequality persist. Increasing inequalities not only negatively affect the macro aspects of our society, but also have individual consequences. In this chapter, we are going to explore some of the different stratification systems that exist and explanations for those systems. We will follow this by exploring social class in the United States and how it impacts our experiences.
Defining Stratification
Sociologists use the term social stratification to describe the system of social standing. Social stratification refers to a society’s categorization of its people into rankings based on factors like wealth, income, education, family background, and power.
Geologists also use the word “stratification” to describe the distinct vertical layers found in rock (figure 8.3). Typically, society’s layers, made of people, represent the uneven distribution of society’s resources. Society views the people with more resources as the top layer of the social structure of stratification. Other groups of people, with fewer and fewer resources, represent the lower layers. An individual’s place within this stratification is called socioeconomic status (SES).
Most people and institutions in the United States indicate that they value equality, a belief that everyone has an equal chance at success. In other words, hard work and talent—not inherited wealth, prejudicial treatment, institutional racism, or societal values—determine social mobility. This emphasis on choice, motivation, and self-effort perpetuates the American belief that people control their social standing.
However, sociologists recognize social stratification as a society-wide system that makes inequalities apparent. While inequalities exist between individuals, sociologists are interested in larger social patterns. Sociologists look to see if individuals with similar backgrounds, group memberships, identities, and locations in the country share the same place in the social stratification system. No individual, rich or poor, can be blamed for social inequalities, but instead, all participate in a system where some rise and others fall. Most Americans believe that rising and falling are based on individual choices. But sociologists see how the structure of society affects a person’s social standing and therefore is created and supported by society.
Stratification is about resources, and there are a variety of resources that can be dispersed or concentrated. Often, when we talk about inequality, it has to do with economic inequalities related to money. Here, it is useful to distinguish between wealth and income. Wealth is the net value of money and assets a person has. Income is a person’s wages